Wheeled carriers are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,003,162 (to Ulmer), 3,104,890 (to Hill) and 4,166,638 (to De Prado) disclose such adjustable wheeled carts, supports or dollies. However, the need to vertically position a supported article or object so that work may be performed conveniently on that article without removing it from the carrier is not addressed.
Another problem unaddressed in the prior art is that if work must be performed on the supported article, and in fact, to enable the safe movement of the article while on a carrier, it may be necessary to provide for securing or holding the article in place. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,166,638, 3,104,890, and 2,177,153 (to Ross et al.) describe some methods for engaging a supported article and holding it in place. An unresolved problem is that such arrangements may interfere with required work operations and access to parts of the supported object.
The problems and needs unaddressed by the prior art are particularly evident in the "body-shop" environment. Pickup truck boxes present difficulties: they vary in size, they must be moved to various work stations such as sanding, bodywork, painting stations and workers need interference free access to body panels for painting. The adjustable carrier of the present invention in large part solves the problems outlined above.